Jessica Carruth, 42, of Russellville has always put on muscle like a man. In a society where Hollywood dictates what is beautiful and what is not, being muscular is not necessarily what many women want for themselves. There’s a stigma involved, and Carruth admitted that it was once something she worried about.

Socrates said, “No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training … what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”

Three years ago, Carruth decided to see that beauty and strength and began to pursue bodybuilding, despite the associated stigma.

“I finally accepted what I could be good at,” she said. “This is my niche. I feel comfortable in my niche, and I finally accepted that I would never be a skinny girl.”

People have a tendency to make sweeping judgments about others when they first meet them. It’s human nature. We see a football star who looks brutish and strong, and we assume he is not smart. We see bodybuilders and we assume the same. We see the bookish nerd, and we think they can’t be strong or athletic.

Often, upon closer inspection, we are surprised to find that people have layers. It happens so often that it shouldn’t be surprising anymore. And yet, somehow, it is. Carruth isn’t just a bodybuilder. She is an artist, a mother, a wife and a college student pursuing her second degree in nursing.

Brains over brawn? Carruth asks, why not both?

“People don’t have to be just one thing,” Carruth said. “I do typical woman stuff. I try to evolve everyday. I want to be a complete human being.”

Two drawings hang in the hallway of her home. Carruth drew them for her husband.

“These are his kids,” she explained. The linework is precise, and the children staring from the page appear angelic — captured in the graphite pencilwork for eternity. Carruth said she had no formal art training, but you wouldn’t believe it from looking at her work.

Carruth said it was her husband who finally pushed her to begin competing.

“He’s very supportive,” she said. “His taste in women went from really slim hipped, typical bikini model ... to me. Ninety percent of the time, I’m the screensaver on his phone.”

Support is in no short supply for Carruth.

“My kids are proud of their mom,” she said. “They tell all the kids at daycare that their mom can beat up their dads.”

Carruth said that, in her experience, men are more open minded about her physique. However, she admitted she hasn’t been entirely free from the negative stigma she worried about in the early days.

“It was surprising to me but women are more rude to me than men,” she said. “I don’t mean all of them, but if anyone is going to be hostile or rude about it, it’s always a woman. I’ve never had a man be rude to me about it.”

“Men know what it takes to put on muscle,” she said. “So I get more respect from men. Most women don’t understand the mentality unless they’ve been an athlete. They’ll come up to me and say, ‘I don’t want to look like you, but ...’ They don’t understand that it takes a whole lot to look like me. They aren’t going to blow up just because they picked up a weight once or twice.”

Carruth has had considerable success in her short time competing. In the Arkansas State competition last year she won novice, masters, and came in second overall. Earlier this year she won the Arkansas State Women’s Bodybuilding championship. Most recently, she finished second in the women’s bodybuilding masters division and second overall in the 2012 Europa in Dallas, Texas.

To achieve and maintain her physical form, Carruth said, it’s a mental exercise. It’s not a fad diet or workout.

“I tried fads before I just buckled down and did it. If you want to be obsessed and go for 90 days straight and burn yourself out, more power to you,” she said. “I don’t believe in that kind of high intensity. I believe in going slow and being methodical and developing the mindset, otherwise, it doesn’t stick with you. You have to develop the mentality, and that doesn’t come over night.”

It's funny that you would mention an ethics violation considering that your assumption of steroid use is just that an assumption. It might also be considered libel considering many athletes go on to make a partial to full living in this sport. I won't make the assumption that you don't participate in the sport but will assume others reading this might not. Natural bodybuilders fight an uphill battle. They are competing in a sport , like many, that has those who break the rules. You find this across the board from bike rider, to baseball players, to body building. They get the spotlight. There are many more who spend years, yes years, training. It's a journey of self and determination. Those that choose to sprint to the finish line tar the rest of the athletes just like in any other sport. The absoulte opinionated commenatary from a person who has probably never even met the althete in question leaves nothing but distate in my mouth.

Very obviously this person has taken anabolic steroids and/or their precursors. Our first commenter thinks this is hot. I don't. Anytime artificial enhancement is used in any competition it is very definitely an ethics violation. It is unnatural.

Hahaha! Someone ALWAYS has to criticize because they dont know how to do anything else. It's just their nature to try and take someone's hard work and turn it into something ugly. Makes them feel better about themselves. Sad really.

aww poor chester...does YOUR life reek so much you have to insult others to feel good? How's that working for you? Educate yourself on steroids before you start using it as a form of attack. Steroids do not make your muscles bigger. WORK makes your muscles bigger and DIET makes them visible. Those who can...DO. Those who cant...INSULT those who can. You really need to stop trying to rain on everyone's parade and work on trying to be a better human being. I will pray for you, CHESTERDRAWERS